Crews are laying the groundwork for a large new housing development in Paso Robles.
Tractors, and just about every piece of heavy equipment you can imagine, are hard at work paving the way for the largest housing development in the city since before 2008.
The project, called Vinedo, will bring nearly 1,300 new homes to the southeast end of Paso Robles.
"Over the next year, there will be a lot of earth-moving for the project," said City Engineer David Athey.
Dozers, tractors, and water tenders are out in full force compacting the ground to make way for streets, homes and utilities.
Vinedo will be a sprawling, 234-acre development encompassing the area along Fontana and Linne roads.
Plans include single-family and townhouse-style homes. There will also be a public elementary school, a community center, parks and trails.
This is the largest development in years to come to Paso Robles.
"We've had a series of single-family homes here and there, but this is the biggest tract we've had in quite a while," Athey said.
Neighbors who live on the edge of town will soon be surrounded by development.
"My husband and I were really looking for kind of a country place. We looked for a really long time and that was exactly what we wanted - this place that was kind of our little Shangri-La," said Joyce Brown, who lives in a community right next to the development.
People who live nearby are concerned about noise, water being used to keep the dust down, as well as permanent changes to their part of town.
"Most of all, it's just kind of this emotional thing," Brown said. "We want it to stay the same and it won't. It will never be the same again."
Others are not exactly thrilled about the construction, but say it's an inevitable part of progress.
"My wife and I moved in here about 20 years ago and it's a pretty nice community," said Willard Strong. "We do know that it is progress being made and we're ready to go along with it."
As for what's next, the City of Paso Robles will vote on creating two community facilities districts - one for police and fire and the other for streets, parks and other infrastructure.
"It's self-funded so the city taxpayers aren't paying for these improvements," Athey said.
That decision will come down at Tuesday night's Paso Robles City Council meeting.
Another project just south of the Vinedo development will eventually bring another 780 homes to the city.
The development currently in the works will feature at least 100 affordable housing units.
